Rainbows Come After Rain
by upsidedownrightsideup
Summary: James and Lily have been a lot of things. Housemates. Classmates. Enemies (in Lily's mind). But now they are coworkers. After James and Lily become Head Boy and Girl things begin changing. But are the changes for better or worse?
1. The Beginning

**Rainbows Come After Rain**

Hi all! So I had been reading a lot of Lily & James stories and I really wanted to start one. Totally a different route from the other story I have but I wanted to try something different, especially with how much J.K. has left up to our interpretation of the two characters (and friends). This story is rated M because there will be some intense scenes. The story will take place starting at Hogwarts in their seventh year. Please let me know what you think, thank you so much for reading!

*Disclaimer-I don't own any of these characters! They all belong to J.K.R. :)*

**Chapter 1-The Beginning **

The day that James Potter first laid eyes on Lily Evans he was eleven years old. The first time he knew he loved her he was thirteen years old. The first time he asked her out and she rejected he was fifteen years old. The first time he asked her out and she accepted was when he was seventeen years old. And the first time James thought he would never see Lily again was when he was twenty years old.

The first time Lily saw James was when she was eleven years old. The first time Lily told him to stop bothering him was when she was twelve years old. The first time she was jealous of a girl he was with was when she was fourteen. The first time she rejected a date invitation from him she was fifteen. The first time he asked her out and she accepted was when they were seventeen. And the first time Lily accepted death she was twenty years old.

What happened between the beginning of their seventh year to the night that changed their lives was a combination of many things; heartbreak, beautiful, passionate, bitter, jealousy, happiness and most importantly life changing. Little did Lily and James know that they day Lily accepted his invitation on a date was the day their lives were put in jeopardy. Granted they would only realize it three years later, James and Lily's story was confusing and captivating to anyone who knew them. Before we can get to the day that Lily accepted death, we must first look at how James and Lily turned into something _no one_ ever thought they would become; a couple.

As Lily arrived to Platform 9 and ¾ on September first she was overwhelmed with emotions. She was excited; excited to get back to the place she considered her home. Lily didn't have a terrible home life; her mother and father were extremely supportive of her abilities. Her sister Petunia, however, had not talked to her in six years. The day that Lily got on the Hogwarts Express for the first time was the last time that she and Petunia spoke. Over the summer while they were in the same house things always got uncomfortable and awkward. Lily was also nervous; she had received a letter over the summer from Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall congratulating her on her new role as Head Girl. Lily was overjoyed by the news; after six years all of her hard work was culminated into a new badge she had attached to her robes as she walked down the platform. Lastly Lily was nostalgic. She and her friends Marlene, Mary and Alice had so many memories together from Hogwarts and she couldn't believe this was the last time the four of them would sit on the train together. Pushing the sadness she felt aside she grinned and waved as she saw her three best friends congregated on the platform.

"Hi Lil! You look so tan!" Mary MacDonald squealed, hugging her tightly. Lily laughed and squeezed her back.

"We went on holiday to the beach and it was quite warm! Marlene, your hair looks gorgeous!" Lily quickly hugged her other two friends.

"I know, doesn't it?! I figured, last year I might as well go out with a bang!" Marlene McKinnon tucked a piece of her now brown hair behind her ear. Marlene was easily the most beautiful girl in the entire school. Together, Alice Lawrence, Mary, Marlene and Lily were considered the most popular girls in school. Girls envied them because of their looks, intelligence and closeness with the most popular boys in the school, the Marauders. Guys wanted to date them yet few hardly did.

Alice snickered. "A _literal _bang," she giggled, jumping away from Marlene's hand trying to hit her.

"Shut up, Al! Not all of us have a nice relationship like you have with Frank!" Mary said, pouting slightly.

"I just got lucky I found someone who could put up with me. Now Lily, do you know who your Head Boy is going to be?" The four girls pushed their way past giggling first years and into an empty compartment. Lily shook her head.

"I don't. I'm nervous to find out. I hope its Remus; he would be so easy to work with, especially since we were head prefects together last year. I really hope it's not Severus. After last year that could be...awkward." Lily plopped down onto one of the seats. "Whoever it is, I'll find out shortly. We're having a prefects meeting in five minutes."

"I hope it's the cute Hufflepuff that was smiling at you on the platform, Lil," Mary giggled. "He is so cute!"

"Brad? Oh we're just friends!" Lily said shrugging. Yes, Brad Matthews, Hufflepuff seeker, was very attractive. And smart. And funny. But that didn't mean Lily liked him. Well, that's a lie. She had a _huge_ crush on him. "But it would be nice if he were Head Boy..." she trailed off dreamily.

"He's not as cute as Sirius or James-oh don't give me that look Lily. Just because James annoys you to no end doesn't mean he's not attractive," Marlene pointed out. Lily rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm _not _going to answer that. I'm off to my meeting. I'll see you all in a bit!" Lily waved to them before exiting.

"Um, guys? I know who the Head Boy is," Alice said, biting her lip. Mary and Marlene looked at her. "It's James."

As Lily walked into the large compartment she saw several faces around her laughing and gossiping about their summers. Lily smiled at the familiar faces, looking around. She noticed Severus Snape, her former best friend sitting in a corner, scowling at the rest of the compartment with a girl in Slytherin (Lily thought her name was Bellatrix but she couldn't be certain). She frowned when she saw his robes lacked a badge. Lily's eyes turned to the corner where she heard giggling and laughing and saw Remus sitting with a few girls not wearing a badge either. Lily walked over to him quickly.

"Hi Lil! How was your summer?" Remus asked and stood up to hug her. She hugged him back and frowned again.

"Not bad. You're not Head Boy?" She asked curiously. Remus shook her head.

"You don't know already? It's J-," Remus began to say but was interrupted by a loud voice entering the compartment. Lily turned around and felt her mouth drop when she saw James Potter standing before her, his arms around a giggling sixth year who Lily had never seen before. The sight of him with a girl didn't make her mouth drop. The badge on his robes did.

"YOU'RE Head Boy?!" Lily exclaimed rather loudly. Several students stopped their conversations to stare at her. James grinned.

"Hello to you too, Evans. And you bet I am. How excited are you?" He kissed the girl next to him on the cheek and she giggled and left the compartment.

"But how...how are YOU Head Boy? You weren't even a prefect?!"

James shrugged. "Beats me. I thought you'd be excited to work with me over some other candidates," he nodded his head in the direction of Severus. Lily frowned.

"Yes, excuse me while I jump for joy over sharing a position with someone who has constantly made fun of me and ridiculed me in front of half the school."

"Oh c'mon, Lily. That was in the past. We're big kids now." He grinned and sat next to Remus. "But I didn't do anything I was supposed to do so you're going to have to run this meeting." He propped his feet up on the empty bench across from him. Lily stared at him blankly, not having anything to say to him. She turned away from him and quickly walked to the front of the compartment.

"Good morning everyone. I'm your Head Girl, Lily Evans. Your Head Boy will be the completely responsible and mature James Potter, who has not prepared for this meeting at all." As Lily mentioned James' name, she heard giggles from girls. She stared directly at James he pushed his glasses up his nose, ran his fingers through his hair and winked at her. Lily's eyes narrowed. "This year should go smoothly. We will have weekly meetings where we will verify all detentions and point deductions that you all will be doing. Most of you were prefects last year, but for those of you who weren't, please remember that you cannot deduct points for nonsensical things such as what house someone is in. Are there any questions?" Lily looked around the room and her eyes fell on Brad. She blushed slightly when he smiled at her and quickly looked away. "Well then, everyone have a good first week and we'll see all of you next Wednesday." The students began filing out, laughter and talking filling the air. Lily saw that James was already gone and sighed. She wasn't quite sure _how_ he had earned Head Boy and she was determined to find out how much his family paid Dumbledore so James could get away with all the pranks in the world he wanted to do. As Lily was about to leave the compartment herself she heard a voice behind her.

"Hi, Lily." Lily turned around to see Brad Matthews standing behind her and smiling. She blushed slightly and smiled back.

"Hi Brad! Walking to your compartment?" She mentally cursed herself for sounding so stupid. He nodded and the pair walked down the hall.

"How was your summer? Are you excited to be Head Girl?" He looked down at her. _God his blue eyes were beautiful_, she thought.

"It was great! I spent it at the beach with my family. I would be more excited to be Head Girl if you were my coworker," she smiled, tucking a piece of her red curls behind her ear. He laughed.

"Oh, trust me, so do I. If Potter gives you problems let me know. I'll make sure to give him a hard time during the Quidditch matches," he winked at her and stopping at his compartment. "Well, I'll see you around," he smiled and disappeared. Lily quickly ran back to her compartment.

"I cannot _believe_ that James Potter is going to be Head Boy. If I survive this year it will be a miracle," Lily groaned, collapsing onto a seat.

"Gee, Evans, I'm excited to work with you too," a voice smirked and Lily quickly opened her eyes, seeing Sirius, Peter and Remus in front of her as well as her friends and James Potter next to her.

"Oh shut up, Potter. How did you even get the position? Pay off Dumbledore?" Lily sneered, looking at him. James shook his head.

"I have no idea how I got it but I'm going to enjoy making your days hell, though," he grinned and leaned in close to her to whisper in her ear. "Besides, we'll have our own living quarters. Make sure you lock your door." Lily shuddered at the thought of living just feet away from James. "Besides, I think you may end up liking this arrangement," he whispered again. Lily felt his hot breath on her ear and bit her lip.

"Your charm isn't going to work on _me,_ Potter."

"We'll see about that," he winked and sat back up to join in the conversation with his friends. Lily groaned and closed her eyes again, secretly wishing she could restart the day and _not _have gotten on the Hogwarts Express. James Potter was going to be the death of her.


	2. The Agreement

*Thank you for the people who have followed this story! I really appreciate it. Please give me your feedback, positive or negative! Chrismasters, thanks for your review! I love Lily too! Also, I try to separate the two different sections but it merges them together. Sorry about that...the part after Mary & Sirius make a bet and Lily in her room are two different parts. Thank you!*

~Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. We all know who they belong to :) ~

**Chapter 2: The Agreement**

Thankfully, the welcome back feast was rather uneventful. No pranks were pulled, no fights broke out yet Lily was still seething over her new coworker and it was all she could mention to her friends.

"I just don't get it. He wasn't a prefect. He skips classes. He has probably set a record for the most detentions in a school year PLUS he's best friends with the student who has the second most detentions in a school year. It's just not fair. He's going to be _impossible _to work with." Lily crossed her arms as she, Mary, Marlene and Alice walked back to the common room. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Have you even given him a chance yet, Lil?"

"A chance? He showed up to the meeting and sat there with his feet all propped up, thinking he looked so cool while I probably made a fool of myself. And in front of BRAD, too!" Lily sighed, frustrated as the approached the Fat Lady. "Popsicles," she said when the four girls stood before the portrait.

"Sorry dear, I'm afraid that's not the password."

"I'm Head Girl, I think I would know the password."Lily felt bad snapping at the portrait, but her annoyance was high.

"Well, unfortunately that's _not _it. Try again."

Lily blinked at the Fat Lady and stared at her friends. "I swear Dumbledore said it was 'popsicles.'"

"Are you sure it wasn't _orange _popsicles or anything like that?" Alice offered, shrugging.

"No. He most certainly said popsicles. That's so strange. I guess we'll have to wait here until someone else comes along who kn-," Lily was interrupted.

"Hey there ladies. Having trouble getting into the Common Room?" A voice smirked behind them. All four turned around and Lily raised her eyebrows in greeting.

"No, Sirius. We just felt like standing out here and talking for a few hours." Lily said and rolled her eyes. Peter Pettigrew, the smallest and quietest Marauder let out a giggle. The four girls looked at him.

"Well that's a shame, Evans. Maybe if you were nicer I'd say the password for you. But for now I'm only going to let your friends in," James said, smiling widely at her. Lily frowned.

"I already tried the password Dumbledore gave us and it didn't work."

"That's because I changed it."

"YOU changed it? How do you even have the power to do that?!"

"Well, if you had read our Head Boy and Girl contracts you would have seen that we were able to ch-,"

"Don't mock me, Potter. We all know I read the contract."

"I'm sure she read it at _least_ three times, Prongs," Sirius added, snickering. Mary, Marlene and Alice all bit their lips to keep from laughing, knowing this was true.

"Tell me you're excited to work with me as a partner and I'll let you in," James said, whispering the new password into the ears of Mary, Marlene and Alice who all smiled, thanked him and walked inside, followed by Sirius, Remus and Peter.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest again and frowned. "Seriously? This job is a _game_ to you, isn't it? How can I be excited to work with you Potter? You're not going to ever take this job seriously. Now open the god damn portrait," she said, her voice growing loud. James' eyes widened slightly at her obvious frustration.

"Tube socks," he said and she pushed past him and stormed into the Common Room. She knew another one of their fights was about to break out. She _hated_ fighting with James for two reasons. One, he always knew what to say to get under her skin. Two, the majority of the time he was right. Granted, she never admitted those things to him.

"Alright, Potter. Answer this question. Have you made a preliminary list of who will be paired up to do rounds together? We need to hand out a schedule to the prefects on Wednesday and with so many of them it's going to be somewhat difficult to accom-," Lily was once again interrupted.

"Of course I haven't done a schedule, Evans. I have Quidditch tryouts for everyone on Tuesday, and as captain I can't technically miss them. I'm trying to make a schedule for _that _already. It looks like you'll have to do it on your own." James said, collapsing onto the couch and dangling his feet over the arm.

"Oh, come on, Prongs. You need to help her out a _little,_" Remus said, frowning at James. Remus was very disappointed he didn't get Head Boy. He didn't tell his friends this, but when he visited James over the summer and saw his Head Boy badge he knew that their final year at Hogwarts would be rough.

"Thank you, Remus. I wish _you_ were Head Boy over deadbeat Potter here." Lily glared at his feet that were dangling over the end of the couch.

"C'mon, Evans. You need to learn to lighten up. The prefects are all big boys and girls. I think they can handle picking schedules for themselves. Besides, that way would give us _less_ possibility of unproductive rounds." James propped himself up to look at the seven others in front of him.

"I need to '_lighten up'_? For SIX years I have worked my hardest at _everything_ I do for THIS badge. All my extra hours in the library were for THIS badge. All the parties and other fun social events that I missed were for THIS badge. And when I finally got this badge in the mail I was so excited that all of that hard work paid off. Until I saw that _you_ were who I was working with. James Potter. The troublemaker. The party thrower. The _rule breaker_. I realized that all my work meant NOTHING. So excuse me, if I'm not the first to jump at 'lightening up.' This has been my dream for six years. You have Quidditch captain. I have _nothing_. And now I will be overshadowed, once again, by _you_." With that final word Lily turned on her heel and quickly walked from the Common Room, leaving the four Marauders, Mary, Marlene and Alice in silence.

"Er...well...that could have gone better,' James mumbled, shrugging.

"James...Lily's right. We've all been roommates for six years. You do realize that she has been the target for many of your jokes and pranks, right?" Alice asked.

"Yes, but we ne-..."

"And you always made fun of her for wanting to _be _Head Girl, right?" Mary asked.

"Well, techn-..."

"And now you've taken the position and you're going to leave everything to HER to do? It's not fair." Marlene crossed her arms. She loved James. They were the closest out of the eight students and she knew that when James wanted to work hard and do the right thing, he could. But that was a rare occurrence.

"I never said it was fair!"

"Maybe someone should check on her?" Peter suggested, shrugging at the group.

"I'll do it," Remus said, standing up. He hated to see Lily bent out of shape over _James._ No, he didn't have any feelings towards her. He just felt so bad when James and Sirius constantly made fun of how much she studied or her lack of social life. Remus knew what it felt like to be different from others (and being a werewolf is pretty different). He didn't pity her. He just knew he could relate to her uneasiness.

"No, I'll go. She's my best friend," Mary said, also standing up. She and Lily were the closest of the four girls. They bonded on Platform 9 and ¾ six whole years ago. Mary's cat and Lily's cat were clawing at each other and their respectable owners had to come and rescue them. It was a silly situation but instead of becoming enemies, they became best friends.

"I think I have to go and do it," James said gloomily. "And Padfoot, maybe we shouldn't do the prank where we take all the stuff from Evans' trunk tonight." James jumped off the couch and walked up the stairs to the private Head Boy and Girl living quarters.

"This year is going to be so exhausting if this is how they are going to act all the time," Mary sighed, sitting back down. Remus and Marlene nodded.

"I don't see what their problem is? Besides James picking on Lily. And pulling pranks on her. And calling her names. Other than that you would think the two of them would be perfectly cordial with each other!" Sirius exclaimed. Sirius Black was beautiful, smart, and next to James, every girls' fantasy. He _had_ slept with a significant number of girls yet outwardly refused to date any of them. He told the guys it was because he enjoyed shagging multiple girls without caring. In actuality, it was because he had a crush on Marlene, given she was almost the female version of _him_.

"Maybe if James wasn't a prat to her so much the two of them would get along better," Alice muttered. James Potter annoyed her. To her, he was arrogant, lazy and selfish and she also hated the way he treated Lily.

"Oh come on, Al. It's obvious why he does it," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

"_What's_ obvious?" Mary asked, staring at him.

"James likes Lily. Well, this is actually old news. He's liked her since first year. How did you all not know that? He's asked her out a running total of...how many times is it Moony?"

"One hundred and thirty six times. Not including him inviting her to our parties and her declining."

"I cannot believe you all keep count of that!" Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's obvious that James likes Lily. Everyone knows that. Dumbledore probably knows that. But Lily has no feelings towards him. Whatsoever." Marlene knew this was the truth. The girls had constantly asked her about James and she always shot back with an insult about him.

"True. But now they will be living practically in the same room. And you can feel the sexual tension between those two. I bet five galleons they shag before Christmas." Sirius said, grinning. The girls all rolled their eyes.

"Let's make it 10 and you have a deal," Mary said, shaking Sirius' hand.

As Lily stood in her room unpacking her trunk she felt angry. Angry that someone like James Potter could hold a prestigious title. And next to _her._ She heard a knock on her door and ignored it, knowing who it would be.

"Go away," she said, slamming her trunk closed. There was another knock. She walked over to the door and opened it, revealing James Potter in front of her. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to say I'm...sorry." James nervously ran his fingers through his hair (Lily knew he did this when he was nervous and she hated when he did it). She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"For?"

"For being a prick. You were right. I have no idea how I became Head Boy and everything you said was true. I promise that after Quidditch tryouts I'll be 100% onboard to help you do whatever we need to accomplish." James offered her a small smile but she did not return it.

"Fine." She turned away from him, walking to her bed. James stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking around her room.

"Do you need help unpacking or anything?"

"Nope."

"Look, Evans. C'mon. It's going to be a very long year if we can't get along."

"The past six years have been very long for me because of _you_."

"I'm sorry about that." He really was. His entire trick playing routine was just to get her to like him. He walked over to her bed and sat next to her and she moved further away from him awkwardly. "It's a new year. Our LAST year. Let's start fresh?" He offered out his hand to her. "Friends?"

Lily stared at the hand outstretched in front of her. She could refuse to shake it. Or, she could get over it and just agree. She bit her lip nervously (James knew that she was nervous because she _always_ bit her lip when she was nervous). She took his hand lightly in hers. "Not friends. Coworkers. Amicable coworkers. Until you do something to screw it up," she snorted and let go of his hand quickly.

He grinned at her. "Now what makes you think I'm going to do something to screw it up?" He asked innocently, looking into her green eyes. _God they are beautiful_, he thought.

"Because you're James Potter. It's what you do," she shrugged and stood up. "Now as I have just agreed to be amicable coworkers and not something more suggestive, I'm going to have to ask you to get off my bed and out of my room so I can go to sleep," she said smiling slightly.

"But something more suggestive could be fun," he said and winked at her, standing up. She felt a slight blush creeping onto her face.

"Out, Potter." She pushed him towards the door.

"Why, did I make Miss. Evans embarrassed?!" He asked, grinning at her as he stood in the doorway.

"Good NIGHT." She said and slammed the door in his face. James grinned as he walked back to the Common Room and Lily groaned and leaned against the door, sliding to the floor. James Potter really _was _going to be the death of her.


	3. The Lake

*Thank you for all the follows! This chapter is designed to be a little more fun. The next couple will be...not as much fun! Thank you so much for reading at let me know what you think!*

~None of these characters belong to me :) ~

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Lake**

After two days of classes the seventh year students were already exhausted. Luckily on Tuesday afternoon they found their relief; the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. Students from other houses came out to watch the tryouts, knowing perfectly well some entertainment always occurred.

"I can't believe I'm going to watch Quidditch tryouts," Lily muttered to her friends. She never watched the tryouts before and wasn't a huge fan of the sport at all. Besides the fact that James Potter was the captain she just didn't see the draw to it. She blamed it on her Muggle childhood but she really just didn't understand all the scoring and positions. That Tuesday afternoon was rather warm and Lily had decided to wear a red shirt that fit her perfectly, showing off her slim yet developed figure. Lily was an ordinary girl yet strikingly beautiful; she inherited her mother's red hair with soft curls that trailed down her back. From her father she inherited dark green eyes that shined whenever she spoke passionately about something. James knew this occurred especially when she was talking about Charms class or her mother and father. Lily wasn't too tall or too short; she wasn't too skinny or too fat. She never wore makeup and she always said "please" and "thank you." Lastly, Lily never lost her temper. Despite the angriest she had ever been at James Potter she never once shouted at him. Because of all her qualities, James thought she was nothing short of perfect.

Lily walked to the field with Mary and Alice. Marlene wasn't with them as she was on the Quidditch team. She played Chaser alongside James and Frank Longbottom, Alice's boyfriend.

"Oh Lily, you're going to love it. You'll get to watch James make an ass out of himself!" Sirius exclaimed, catching up to the girls.

"Besides, as Head Girl it looks good that you're supporting school events," Mary said, giggling at Lily.

"And also showing camaraderie with the Head Boy despite how much he sucks," Alice winked at Lily. Lily rolled her eyes as she and her two friends, followed by three Marauders made their way up the stairs to the seating, deciding on the front row.

"I'm not going to enjoy this," Lily muttered to no one in particular. As soon as she said that she looked up and let out a small squeal as James pulled in front of them on his broomstick, several feet in the air.

"Hey guys! Thanks for coming out. There are 40 bloody people trying out, half of which I don't think even know how to hold a broom!" James sighed, exasperated. In previous years he just had to participate in tryouts, not actually _run_ them. "We'll be here all night!"

"Well mate, it looks like there are a good number of girls who came just to see the Head Boy in action," Sirius snickered, pointing to the group of girls who weren't even wearing proper flying gear.

"Really Prongs, you just need to get a girlfriend. Then half of the Gryffindor female population would lay off of you," Remus said, smiling.

"They would probably continue to lay on him," Lily muttered though the six others heard her. James raised an eyebrow at her.

"Jealous, Evans?"

"In your dreams, Potter."

"Well, don't say that to James given it's actually true," Sirius interjected. James blushed slightly and turned away from them.

"Shut up, Sirius. I'll see you lot in a bit," he called over his shoulder as he sped off. Lily rolled her eyes and took a seat on the bench, pulling out a book from her bag.

"Seriously, Lil? We're at the tryouts and you're going to _read?"_ Mary asked, giving her a look. Lily shrugged.

"Let me know if something interesting happens or Potter falls off his broom. Preferably the latter." Lily opened her book, T_he Tales of Beedle the Bard._

As James stood before the Gryffindors on the field below he snuck a glance up to the stands where his friends were. He noticed Lily reading something and he frowned, slightly distracted. His mind began to wander until he heard a throat clearing.

"Ahem. James. Maybe we could go ahead and start? Some of us have homework we want to do," Marlene said, giving him a look. James nodded quickly.

"Right. Okay. So if anyone here isn't seriously wanting to play for the team, now is the time to leave." James stared at the group of girls in a huddle and they giggled and started to walk to the stands. James saw the girl he kissed on the train wink at him and he gave her a grin. "Right. We only have three spots open right now but we have room for 6 alternates. What we'll do is have those who already are on the team assist me in exercises to determine who the adequate choices will be."

* * *

Three hours and a sunset later, tryouts were over. The six friends who weren't trying out for the team began to walk to the locker room, much to Lily's dismay. When they arrived the new members of the team were high fiving and filing out of the room, excited that they earned a coveted spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Hey Prongs! That could have gone longer!" Sirius called out sarcastically as James came and met them. James rolled his eyes, standing shirtless due to the heat and dirt covering his entire body. James Potter could be described as many girls' dream; he was tall, muscular, intelligent, funny and downright sexy. His hair always looked messy and his glasses gave him an aura of mystery.

"Hardly. All I want to do now is drink some Butterbeer," he groaned. The three Marauders exchanged a look while the girls couldn't help but raise their eyebrows at James' toned stomach.

"Maybe we can sneak into the kitchens, grab some and then take an early evening swim in the lake. Ladies, would you care to join us?" Sirius asked, bowing at them gracefully. Mary and Alice giggled.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Mary shrugged, looking at Alice. Alice nodded.

"Only if Frank can come too!" She said, running over to her boyfriend and giving him a hug.

"Of course Longbottom can come...only because he didn't lose his spot on the team," James said, winking at the couple.

"Count me IN. I feel disgusting and it's probably one of our only chances we'll have to have fun before we get slammed with work," Marlene joined in, walking up to the group looking positively nasty, covered in dirt. The eight looked at Lily. She bit her lip.

"I would love to but I really need to work on the schedule for the prefect's meeting tomorrow," she said, shrugging. The truth was that despite how beautiful she was, Lily was so self conscious in a bathing suit and the last people she wanted to wear one around was the Marauders.

"Oh, c'mon Lil! It will just be for an hour!" Marlene whined, pouting at her. "Pleaseeee?"

"Yeah, Evans. If you join us we can meet up before the meeting tomorrow and knock it out together really quick," James said, smiling at her. She looked at him (attempting to keep her eyes on his face because let's face it, his stomach was rather distracting) and frowned.

"Fine. But only an hour. I don't want to break curfew and I'm not going to let you lot do so either," she said, sighing. The three girls squealed.

"Yay! We'll meet you all at the lake in ten minutes!" Mary exclaimed, as the four girls walked quickly to the castle.

"Why do they need to change?" Sirius asked, looking at the four boys in front of him.

"Because they aren't wearing bathing suits..." Peter said, staring at him.

"Again Wormtail, why do they need to change?" Sirius asked, giving a grin. "I know it would be nothing new for Frank here to see his lady in hardly any clothes but maybe the rest of us want to enjoy a good view!" The boys started towards the lake.

"Yeah, Prongs. You may want to get into the water before Lily comes back so she can't tell how excited you are to see her in a bathing suit finally," Remus snickered. James rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Moony. I've seen girls in bathing suits PLENTY of times," James said as the group reached the lake. "Now what are we going to do about the Butterbeer?"

"Don't worry about that! I packed some in my bag," Sirius said, reaching deep into a small bag he carried and pulled out a few bottles. "Tada!"

"And people say you don't pay attention in class," Remus muttered. Sirius looked at him.

"'People' are right. I just pay attention to things I think would be useful in life. Such as an expanding charm so I can carry alcohol around with me," Sirius grinned.

Remus groaned. "Oh god these are alcoholic? Lily is going to freak out on us!"

"Maybe she won't notice?" Frank offered, finally speaking up. He wasn't a Marauder and often felt intimidated by the group of boys but they welcomed him to spend time with them. He _was _an excellent Quidditch player and always had funny jokes to tell.

"Whatever. Lily can either bitch at us, drink it or not drink it. We aren't forcing her to do it!" Sirius said, rolling his eyes, opening a drink for himself. The rest of the boys grabbed one as well and Sirius held his up. "To a year that will be filled with fun, pranks, Quidditch victories and leaving Hogwarts better than when we entered it!"

"Cheers!" The other boys exclaimed and they all took a sip of their drinks.

"That was very profound, Padfoot!" Peter exclaimed. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up, Wormtail. It's the truth. We need to prank the Slytherins before the match this weekend. I can't believe the first one is so early this year!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I've had some thoughts about what we should do," James started to say but noticed the four girls walking back towards them. "But I'll have to share those ideas with you later. Ladies!" He said happily. "Welcome! Have a drink," he handed them all bottles of Butterbeer. Lily eyed him suspiciously.

"These are alcoholic, aren't they?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Upon hearing alcoholic the other three girls opened theirs quickly.

"Dammit, Lily. How DO you do it?" Sirius asked, finishing his first bottle and pulling out a second. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Because Potter is never that excited to see us," she said and opened hers, taking a sip of it. It actually tasted pretty good. "Not bad," she said.

"Careful, Evans, you don't want to get drunk or anything," James snickered and the boys laughed. She frowned at him and noticed how close he was sitting to the edge of the lake. Lily gave him a smile and pushed him into the water.

"Whoops. I must be drunk. Oh wait, I would do that sober too," She smirked at James who was now soaked and splashing from the water. The girls all giggled.

"Nice one, Lil!" Marlene exclaimed as she took a seat next to Sirius. Lily shrugged, hugging her knees. She wore a white oversized t-shirt over her bathing suit, trying to cover up as much of her body as she could. She took another sip of her drink, enjoying the taste.

"Oy, Evans. You better come help me out," James said, sticking his arms on the edge of the dock they were sitting on.

"And why would I do that?" Lily asked sweetly, walking over to him and squatting down so she was on his level.

"Because otherwise I won't help do the schedule," James said, smiling at her goofily.

"I wasn't counting on you to help with that anyway so you can stay in the lake," she smirked. Just as she stood up she felt someone grab her waist from behind. "What the bloody hell... PUT ME DOWN, SIRIUS!" She squealed, realizing he had thrown her over his shoulder.

"What do you think, Prongs? Should I throw her in?" Sirius asked, grinning down at James.

"Absolutely. Especially since she's wearing a white t-shirt!" James chuckled and Lily could feel her face turning red. Before she could say anything she let out a yelp as she and Sirius went tumbling into the water.

"What the fuck, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed after coming up for air. Remus stood on the dock giving them a grin. Marlene and Mary walked up behind him quietly and gave him a push in as well. Alice and Frank were laughing hysterically from the shore and Peter jumped up and quickly ran to the girls on the dock, pushing them too. A few seconds of screams and yelps later, everyone but Lily was laughing.

"Oh, Lily! You're so sexy when you're mad," Sirius joked, winking at her. "I see why James constantly rags on you. I'd do it too if you looked like that," he laughed and splashed her.

"Oh shush," she said and she broke out into a smile. She swam over to the dock and pulled herself out of the water. Deciding to ignore what her head said she pulled her now drenched t-shirt off over her head and quickly jumped back into the water. Sirius and James exchanged a look and James quickly dunked underwater noticing that Lily looked way too good in a bathing suit. Marlene swam over to Sirius and got onto his back, laughing as he tried to dunk her underwater. Lily laughed at them until she let out a shriek, feeling something touch her foot and she practically jumped into Remus' arms. Remus burst out laughing as James came up for air, grinning at Lily. She frowned at him.

"You prick!" She exclaimed, swimming over to him. James gave her another grin.

"Nice job picking Remus as your protector, Evans!" James laughed. She glared and lunged at him dunking him underwater. The bystanders all burst out laughing at Lily's strength.

"Nice one, Lil!" Mary exclaimed.

"He deserved that," Sirius laughed, trying to ignore Marlene's legs wrapped around him which was an almost impossible feat. Lily grinned victoriously until James came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her under the water. After a few seconds they both emerged, panting for air. James' arms were still around Lily's waist and she felt herself blushing at his touch. She turned around to face him.

"Let go of me, Potter," she muttered, looking up at him as she treaded water.

"But this is so much fun," he said slyly, returning her gaze. He was able to get a good glimpse of her cleavage (which was greater than he expected) and had to advert his eyes, biting his lip.

"Embarrassed, Potter?" Lily whispered in his ear. "Two can play this game," she whispered, running her finger down his toned stomach. He looked down at her quickly.

"That's not fair, Lily," he muttered, using her name for the first time all year. "Besides, I don't think you want to play this game with _me_. I know how to drive girls wild," he whispered back, the two of them ignoring their friends. Lily blushed.

"Don't flatter yourself," she muttered and felt his hand run down her stomach slowly as well. She quickly pushed him off of her, blushing even more. "Don't touch me, Potter." She swam to the dock and pulled herself out of the water, grabbing her towel quickly. Lily felt flustered; she had made out with plenty of guys and occasionally had done a few things with her hands but other than that she was rather inexperienced. That wasn't the problem. The problem was when James touched her she felt a jolt of electricity and she didn't want to pull away. "I'll see you all later! I'm going to start on my homework," Lily yelled to the group and quickly took off. Remus, Peter and Sirius looked at James who blushed.

"Don't look at me!" He cried and dunked his head underwater. He was thankful they were in the lake. James felt pathetic. When Lily touched him he got excited; too excited. He had slept with plenty of girls (ten to be exact) and had hooked up with plenty more (twenty total). But when Lily touched him he briefly lost his mind. "God dammit," he muttered and Sirius looked at him.

"What's up, mate?" He asked, looking at James nervously.

"Just when I think I can get her out of my mind she has to wear a god damn bathing suit and touch me. I'm doomed." James dunked his head underwater.

"I can't wait for the rest of this year," Sirius grinned.


	4. The Promise

*Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!*

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters they all belong to JKR :)

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Promise**

Lily avoided James at all costs on Wednesday and she was regretting making the prefect meeting that night. Unfortunately, following the meeting Lily and James would be doing the first night of rounds...together. As Lily walked into the Great Hall ten minutes early she was surprised to see Brad Matthews there.

"Brad! You're early," she exclaimed, walking over to him and smiling.

"I know! I just wanted to further prove why I should have been Head Boy," he joked and gave her a quick hug. "Actually, I wanted to catch you! I know the first Quidditch match is this Saturday but I was hoping that maybe after you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me?" He blushed slightly.

"I-I...yes! Of course! Absolutely!" She said rather enthusiastically. "I would love to," she smiled at him and saw James walk into the room with Remus.

"Fantastic. It's a date," he said and walked away as James and Remus walked up to her. Lily smiled idiotically as James frowned at her.

"What's a date?" He asked curiously. Lily snapped back to reality and looked at him.

"Oh. Nothing. Just going to Hogsmeade with Brad on Saturday."

"But it's the first Quidditch match of the year!" James said quickly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm not one for Quidditch but we're going _after_ the game."

"Oh. Well that's good."

A moment of awkward silence sat between the three before Remus broke it. "Well, we should probably get the meeting going..." he muttered and quickly walked away from the pair, leaving James frowning at Lily and Lily avoiding eye contact with him all together and turning to the prefects in front of her.

"Good evening everyone! Thank you all for being here. What we're going to do tonight is hand out the prefect schedule for the next month. You may not like who you are assigned to do rounds with but these are the pairings I thought would be most productive and beneficial to have quick and complete rounds," Lily began as she handed out the paper schedules. "If you all have any complaints or questions, please let me know!"

She heard a few groans around her and ignored them. Lily knew that friends would want to work together but Dumbledore told her specifically to split up housemates as part of an attempt to bond between houses.

"Do you really think that a Gryffindor doing rounds with a Slytherin is going to be 'productive' and 'beneficial'?" Lily turned around and frowned when she saw who was asking the question.

"If you don't think you can handle the responsibility, Severus, perhaps someone else from your house would be happy to replace you."

"It just seems rather stupid that you are trying to create a 'bond' that doesn't exist and will never exist," Bellatrix piped up.

"Maybe if Slytherins weren't so impossible to work with we wouldn't be having any problems," Ravenclaw prefect Xenophilius Lovegood interjected.

"Oh please, Lovegood. Go back to writing your silly essays on plants and creatures no one cares about," Bellatrix smirked at him.

"Guys can we please just sto-..." Lily was interrupted by more comments.

"At least I am able to pass my Care of Magical Creatures exams, Bellatrix," Xenophilius added.

"Probably because you're kissing Professor Kettleburn's ass," Severus said, rolling his eyes.

"GUYS. STOP." Lily heard herself exclaim loudly and the room went silent. "Now I get that you all don't want to work with each other but it's time to get over it. Some of you are 17 years old and graduating this year. This is NO way to act towards someone, especially a classmate. I don't care if you don't like who you're working with. Don't walk together. Split up the duties. Just don't complain like a bunch of first years or I'll ask _them_ to be prefects. Now if no one has any other complaints or questions you are all DISMISSED." With that rant Lily turned away from her fellow students and shoved her books into her bag, storming out of the door.

"Bloody hell, where is she running off to? We have rounds to do together," James groaned. "Now I'm going to be stuck with her and she's going to be bitching the whole time."

"Maybe you could do a little extra work to make her feel better?" Remus suggested, shrugging his shoulders when James gave him a look. "But good luck, you'll need it!" He put his items in his bag and followed the crowd out of the room. James groaned to the silent room again.

"Dammit."

"What's wrong, Potter?" Lily sneered, walking back into the room without her bag. "Don't tell me you didn't like how that meeting went because you stood there and didn't do _anything._"

"Oh please, you didn't give me a chance to!"

"Maybe you should have said something while the prefects were screaming at each other!"

"Maybe you should have thought a little harder on the pairings and not put a Gryffindor with a Slytherin. Do you really think that was a good idea, Evans?"

"Maybe if you had been at the meeting with Dumbledore you would have heard that he wanted to encourage more house bonding."

"Maybe if you told me when the meeting was I would have gone!"

"DAMMIT, Potter. Do you EVER shut up and take responsibility?!" Lily collapsed into a chair in the silent room, putting her head in her hands. "This is going to be the worst year ever," she muttered. James sighed, taking a seat as well.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know I've been sucking as Head Boy but now that Quidditch tryouts are over I'll be more inv-..."

"James! There you are! I was looking for you. Did you forget we were supposed to meet up tonight?" Brittney Bell, the giggling blonde from the train ride entered the room and stared at him. Lily frowned and stared at him as well.

"You'll be more involved. Right. Even though you schedule snog sessions with silly fifth years the night we're supposed to do rounds," Lily said, standing up.

"I'm actually a sixth year," Brittney added, folding her arms over her curvaceous chest.

"Right. Forgive me." Lily said sarcastically and looked at James. "When you're ready to be mature and take responsibility Potter, you know where to find me." Lily gave him one last look before walking out of the room. James sighed and stood up.

"Hey, Brittney. Sorry. With tryouts and being Head Boy I seem to be losing my mind slightly. Let me make it up to you," He muttered and kissed her passionately. Brittney giggled.

"Lily Evans is so annoying!" Brittney said, kissing him back equally passionately.

"The most annoying person ever. I don't know how I'll survive a year with her," James laughed and pinned Brittney against the wall.

"You'll have me to help," Brittney giggled again, unbuckling his belt.

Lily bit her lip as she stood outside the door to the Great Hall, having heard the conversation that just occurred. She blinked her eyes that felt hot and were filling with tears and quickly took off for the Gryffindor common room, not caring about rounds anymore.

"That I will," James whispered in Brittney's ear and pulled her shirt off over her head.

* * *

Two hours later, Lily was sitting on her bed reading over her essay she had written for Potions. It wasn't due until Friday but Lily had been so excited to write about Felix Felicis she couldn't wait to start it. She sighed, putting her quill down and pulled her large t-shirt over her knees. She didn't know why she was feeling down and mopey. Well, she knew why but she didn't want to admit it. She heard a knock on her door.

"Coming!" She exclaimed and walked to open it, knowing it was probably one of the girls. When Lily opened it and saw James Potter before her, she frowned. "What do you want?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Er..hi."

"What do you want?" She repeated, glaring at him.

"I wanted to say sorry."

"Maybe if you didn't have a hickey on your neck I would believe you," Lily snorted and walked back to her bed, leaving the door open. James took this as a positive sign and walked a few steps into her room and closed the door behind him.

"Potions essay?"

"Yup."

"How many inches is yours?"

"Well it's supposed to be six...but I think mine is around ten," Lily said shrugging. "Why are you here, Potter?"

"I already told you. To say I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the meeting and I'm sorry that I forgot we had rounds tonight. Being Quidditch captain has had me so stressed out that I can't keep my head on straight. Not only that, but my parents are already sending me owls reminding me how many days I have until I go off to the Auror Academy. Lastly, I have no idea why Dumbledore picked me to be Head Boy but he made a huge mistake," James blurted out, blushing slightly at his rant. Lily raised an eyebrow at him and motioned to the empty chair across the room from her which he gladly took.

"I won't argue you on that last point," she smirked. "I'm sorry that you're stressed out. I know it's probably very difficult being so popular and having so much to do," She said, trying to lighten the mood. James shrugged.

"It's exhausting. Everyone thinks I have my head on straight and everything figured out. Everyone thinks I have it so easy and I don't have to work for anything. Even _you_ think that," James said, staring at her, noticing for the first time she was just wearing a t-shirt. His eyes trailed down from her face and noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra; he saw her hard nipples pressed against the shirt. Lily saw him staring and blushed, grabbing a pillow to cover her chest.

"I don't think that you have it so easy. I just think that you get by easier than everyone else. You study half as much as I do yet you earn almost the same grades. You break every rule this school has seen yet you get named Head Boy. I'm sorry but in that aspect you won't get any sympathy from me," Lily said, staring at him and biting her lip. "But I am sorry that your parents are pressuring you. I know the feeling."

"Really? But your parents are Muggles..." James said, looking at her curiously. Lily shrugged.

"Doesn't mean they don't pressure me. Except mine pressure me about finding a husband and the fact that I should get a Muggle job and not one in the Wizarding world...though that will probably be the case because who would want to hire a Muggleborn to do a job for them when they can easily pick a pureblood." Lily sighed. "I accept your apology, James. As long as you promise you're going to try harder to help me out." Lily gave him a small smile, not knowing that by using his first name she caused his heart to almost stop.

"I promise. And you have permission to kick my ass if I slack off again," James said and smiled at her. "And for the record, I would hire you over a pureblood any day," he added, standing up. Lily blushed again.

"Don't worry about your parents, Potter. You're doing great things. You're going to be fine." Lily stood up as well to walk him to the door. James grinned at her.

"Next time you should wear a shirt that's a little bit shorter...then you would have my FULL attention," he winked at her as he opened the door. "Good night, Lily."

"Night Potter," she muttered and closed the door behind him, blushing again slightly. How was it that James Potter always made her so infuriated yet was able to compliment her and even _embarrass_ her seconds later. She hoped that he was serious about helping her more. Lily honestly thought that if the two of them could get along they would make a great team. Little did she know that things would get worse before they would get better.

* * *

James trudged down the stairs away from his private room and to the room of his three best friends and Frank. He pushed open the door and let out an exasperated sigh, collapsing onto Sirius' bed near the door.

"You ok, Prongs? I heard the prefect meeting didn't go so well," Sirius smirked, throwing a Quidditch magazine at him. James groaned.

"It was awful. Just like how I am as Head Boy-AWFUL," James grumbled and opened the magazine.

"Whenever you're ready to relinquish your title I'd be happy to take it off your hands," Remus said, smiling at James.

"That may happen sooner rather than later, Moony."

"Weren't you supposed to do rounds tonight with Lily?" Peter asked curiously, giving him a look. James groaned again.

"I was. But then Brittney came and found me so I messed around with her then I went and apologized to Evans for being a git and now I'm here," James muttered, flipping through the magazine.

"Brittney is h-o-t, mate. So hot. Are you two just shagging or is this some actual thing?" Sirius grinned at him, girls often being the topic of their conversations. James shrugged.

"Shagging for now. You know how I don't like relationships."

"Very true. Now, I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but can we just acknowledge very briefly how bloody amazing Lily Evans looks in a bathing suit?!" Sirius exclaimed. "Merlin man. If I didn't fancy Marlene..."

"Shut up, Padfoot," James groaned, putting the magazine over his eyes. "I was trying to get the image of her _out _of my mind and now it's just back in it."

"Oh, like you didn't use it for motivation in the shower this morning," Peter snickered and high-fived Remus. James blushed.

"I don't think of Evans _that_ way. Besides, I have Brittney to take care of that," James said, sitting up. There was silence for a moment.

"That doesn't mean you can deny how good Lily looked," Remus grinned. "She really is a beautiful girl. I think I would take beautiful over hot any day."

"I had no idea she had such a nice ra-,," Sirius began to say.

"STOP." James yelped, covering his ears.

"Oh, Prongs. Just admit you want to get with her and we'll lay off of it," Sirius grinned. James shook his head.

"Evans and I are coworkers. Nothing more. Nothing less. She can barely be in the same room as me for an extended period of time. I highly doubt that she'd _ever_ want to snog me, let alone shag me!" James stood up, crossing his arms.

"You didn't answer the question mate," Sirius said, laughing at James' attempt to play coy.

"I'm not dignifying it with a response," James muttered and opened the door. He turned around to close the door and gave the Marauders a final look. "But I would not be opposed to seeing what she has under her bathing suit," he said, slamming the door behind him. The remaining Marauders howled with laughter.

"They will easily be shagging by Christmas," Sirius grinned, climbing into bed. "I know that Lily is James' unspoken property and none of us would even dare laying a hand on her...but you all thought she looked _banging_ too, right?" Peter and Remus exchanged a look and Remus emitted a groan.

"I'd never talk about Lily in such a sexual and crude way but she is very well endowed," Remus said, covering his eyes with his hands. "That's all I'm going to say."

"We know that you probably had to take an hour long cold shower after seeing her in a bathing suit, Wormy," Sirius snickered. "If James doesn't start getting a move on I may have to break our promise and go after her myself."

"You wouldn't dare," Peter gasped. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Of course I wouldn't. But perhaps competition is exactly what James and Lily need to see that they are _made_ for each other," Sirius shrugged and closed his eyes.

"That may already be happening," Remus said, turning off the light.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked curiously.

"Brad Matthews asked Lily out to Hogsmeade after the Quidditch match on Saturday. James found out and I don't think he was too happy about it," Remus sighed. "Those two are so bipolar. They need to get together and get it over with."

"Yeah or just have hot sex. Good for Lily though. But 5 galleons says that Brad somehow ends up sick before the match on Saturday," Sirius laughed. "And it won't be _my_ doing!"


	5. The Secret Revealed

*I don't own any of these characters, they all belong to J.K.R. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think :) *

**Chapter 5: The Secret Revealed **

Luckily for the students at Hogwarts the rest of the week was fairly quiet. Already piled down with work, most of the students spent their Friday night in the library. Lily and her girlfriends, however, were sitting in her private room.

"What am I supposed to wear to this 'date'?" Lily asked, groaning and covering her head with a pillow.

"You shouldn't worry about it, Lil! Brad obviously thinks you're cute without you having to try. You could wear your school robes and still look beautiful," Mary said, rummaging through Lily's clothes before pulling out a blue sweater. "Here! This would look good on you!"

"That sweater is from second year. I highly doubt it fits anymore," Lily sighed, sitting up.

"I doubt Brad would mind," Marlene giggled and squealed as Lily threw her pillow at her.

"Maybe I just shouldn't go," Lily sighed again.

There was a knock on the door and all four girls looked around. "Who would that be?" Alice asked, walking towards the door and opening it. "Frank! What are you doing here?" She gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hi girls. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Lily, I was just going into the common room and I saw Brad who was doing rounds. He started throwing up and looked really awful. He told me that he's going to have to reschedule your outing tomorrow and that he is very sorry," Frank sad, giving Lily a sad smile.

"Oh no, is he okay?" Lily asked, feeling crestfallen. Frank nodded.

"He just doesn't look very good. He said it was probably food poisoning and that he was going to spend tomorrow in bed. But he promises he'll make it up to you," Frank smiled. "I'll let you all get back to your girls night. I'll see you later, sweetie," he said, kissing Alice on the head and walking out. The girls looked at Lily who shrugged.

"That's fine! Now I don't have to worry about finding an outfit," she said and sat her bed frowning.

"Lil, I'm sure he's actually sick. Don't think that he canceled because he doesn't want to see you," Mary said, sitting next to Lily and giving her hand a squeeze.

"I know. I was just excited. Which is silly because it wasn't even anything that was a date date. Maybe I'll check on him tomorrow after the game and see how he's doing," Lily suggested and laid on her bed.

"That's a great idea! I'm sure he would love that," Alice said, joining the two girls on Lily's bed.

"I'm going to grab my magazine from downstairs and I'll be right back," Marlene said and quickly left the room. Alice frowned.

"That sure was a quick exit," Alice said, looking at Mary. Mary shrugged.

* * *

Marlene walked quickly to the seventh year boys dormitory and knocked loudly. "Open up, boys!" The door swung open quickly and Sirius stood before her.

"Hi Mar! What do we owe this unexpected visit to?" Sirius asked, giving her a grin. Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Is James here?"

"He is!" Upon hearing this, Marlene pushed past Sirius and into the dormitory.

"Marlene! You can't just walk in here!" Remus yelped, holding a towel around his waist tightly having just exited the shower.

"I didn't just walk in here. Sirius let me in. James Potter. You better explain yourself." Marlene stood before James and crossed her arms.

"What _are _you talking about?" James asked, looking at her innocently.

"The fact that Brad Matthews mysteriously has food poisoning the night before he's supposed to go on a date with Lily isn't just coincidence." Marlene frowned at him.

"I have no idea what you're suggesting. I didn't do anything," James shrugged and went back to his magazine. Marlene grabbed it out of his hands.

"I get that you like Lily, James. But she doesn't like you. In fact, you annoy her to no end. If you _did_ give Brad food poisoning, which I think you did, she is going to be furious with you. You can't control her life no matter how you feel about her," Marlene said, glaring at James. The other boys in the dormitory remained silent, feeling guilty.

"I-I'm not trying to control her life," James muttered, refusing to look at Marlene's gaze. "Brad's bad news. I don't want to see anything bad happen to Lily. Don't tell her I did it."

"That's not for YOU to decide, James. Either you need to ask her out or you need to leave her alone. It's not fair to her. I won't tell her, but you better fix this," Marlene snapped and stormed out of the room. Sirius, Peter and Remus all stared at James.

"Did you do it, Prongs?"

James groaned. "I didn't mean to. Well, I did mean to but I didn't mean for him to get so sick that he wouldn't be able to go on the date. That was really stupid, wasn't it?" James muttered.

"I hate to ask the obvious question here...but why don't you tell Lily how you feel?" Remus asked.

"You heard Marlene. She's right. Lily doesn't like me. She _hates_ me. I'm not sure why but I just need to leave her alone," James muttered again, sighing. "I'm going to sleep," he announced, standing up and leaving the room.

"I feel bad for him," Peter said. Sirius nodded.

"If he wasn't such a prick Lily would probably be more inclined to actually enjoy him. But until then, I don't blame her for being annoyed by him," Sirius shrugged, climbing into bed. "But let's just hope Lily doesn't find out about this incident."

* * *

Saturday morning arrived quickly for the Gryffindors who were all piled into the Great Hall earlier than everyone else, excited for the first Quidditch match of the season. A handful of Slytherins were also present but the most noise was coming from the Gryffindor table. Lily sat rather quietly, pushing her eggs around on her plate. Alice and Mary were still sleeping while Marlene was getting ready for the game. She sighed and put her chin in her hand, trying to ignore the disappointment she was feeling.

"Morning," she heard a voice say and looked up, seeing James Potter in front of her.

"Oh. Hello." Lily barely acknowledged him, knowing that if he knew that her date was canceled he would make fun of her.

"Gee, that sure was a lovely greeting," James smirked, sitting next to her. "Where are the girls?"

Lily shrugged. "Still sleeping and Marley is getting ready upstairs. Where are the boys?"

James snorted. "They arrive at the last possible second. God forbid they lose ten minutes of sleep," he smirked. Lily looked up at him and couldn't help but notice how...sexy he looked when he smirked. She quickly looked back to her eggs, feeling her cheeks flush. Thankfully, she was snapped back to reality by a high pitched squeal.

"James! There you are! Oh, I'm so excited to watch you in the game today!" Brittney giggled, joining them at the table. Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out her book from her bag. She was a young woman of high intelligence and hearing girls throw themselves at men like Brittney did annoyed her to no end. James would never admit it either, but he found that behavior annoying too. James was very smart although he hardly acted like it. The sight of Lily reading a book was more appealing to him than a girl flinging herself at him but sadly James couldn't do much about that at the given moment.

"Brittney, hi! I'm just grabbing some food and heading out," he said, smiling at her and giving her cheek a kiss. James swore he saw Lily's eyes look up when he did this but as soon as he noticed, she was turning a page in her book. Brittney giggled and kissed his neck.

"Good luck out there today! I'll be cheering nice and loud. Get ready to celebrate with me after," she whispered in his ear, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "See you later," she whispered again and placed her lips on his, kissing him slightly more passionately than usual due to the audience (i.e. Lily) that was present. James smiled and pulled away from her.

"Thanks, babe. See you later," James said and waved as Brittney walked away. With the absence of giggling, a silence set in between the two of them as James ate his scone and Lily turned another page. "Why do you read so much?" James finally blurted out. Lily looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow.

"Because I'd rather read a book than giggle around guys."

"I think you hide behind them," James said, looking at her. Lily blushed slightly.

"I have nothing to hide. I just enjoy reading. Maybe you should learn to pick up a book," she smirked and looked back down, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. James stared at her as she did so. He noticed the freckles on her cheeks slightly visible and the way her curls seemed perfect. He recognized the small scar on her nose that was probably invisible to everyone but him. He had first noticed the scar in their third year but never thought of asking. In that moment, however, James couldn't help himself.

"How did you get your scar?" James asked, looking down at her. Lily closed her book quickly.

"You can see it?" She blushed, reaching up with her hand. James shook his head quickly.

"No. I mean yes. I mean it's not noticeable. I just noticed it was there. I guess it's because I've looked at it a lot." James began to blush at his idiocy. "I-I was just curious."

Lily looked at him for a moment, studying his face then stood up. "One day in third year I was walking with Severus when you and Sirius thought it would be funny to push through us. I fell on the concrete and scraped my nose pretty badly. Madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding easily and quickly but it scarred." She put the book she was holding in her bag. James gaped at her, not knowing what to say.

"I-I did that to you?"

"Indirectly. It's really not a big deal."

"I'm sorry."

"Really, Potter. It's fine."

"It's not fine. I'm sorry. That was stupid of us."

"I said it's fine. I'll see you at the Qudditch match," Lily shrugged and walked away. James frowned as he looked back at his plate, no longer hungry. He stood up and quickly hurried to the Quidditch Pitch, knowing his team would be waiting for him.

"Oy, Potter, it's about time you showed up!" Frank Longbottom called, waving him over.

"Sorry, mate. I was a bit distracted," James muttered as he pulled on his Qudditch robe.

"Lily?" Frank asked, smiling at him. James sighed.

"I'm pathetic."

"Nah mate, you're just in love."

"Oh Merlin, Longbottom, shut up. I'm not in love with Evans. I'm seeing Brittney right now." James shoved his wand into his pocket, ignoring the heat rising to his face. Frank shrugged.

"Suit yourself," he said before heading out of the locker room. James groaned and followed, holding onto his broom tightly. If he could make it through the game without falling off his broom due to a Lily distraction, it would be a successful match.

* * *

The good news: Gryffindor won. The bad news: James almost had his arm broken by a bludger because he was too caught up with watching Lily talk to a guy. The bad news was quickly ignored as the Gryffindor's piled into the Common Room ready to celebrate, a visit to Hogsmeade quickly forgotten. Courtesy of Sirius, drinks were provided (Firewhiskey, of course) and despite the sun still being up it was beginning to turn quite loud and rowdy.

"Nice game, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, patting James on the back and handing him a cup.

"If you had lost I'm sure people would be talking more about your near accident," Remus snorted, ignoring the death glare from James.

"Shut up. The point is we won." James took a sip from his cup, feeling his throat burn already. He scanned the room and saw Lily talking with Marlene and Alice. James sighed. Why did she have to be so goddamn beautiful? He didn't understand it. He had been with _plenty_ of girls and none made him become anxious, nervous, sweaty or stupid. But Lily...Lily made all of those emotions happen at the same time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Brittney looking around the common room, probably for him. "If you boys will excuse me, I'll be back shortly," he said and made a dash over to Lily and the girls.

"Hi, James. Nice game," Alice said, smiling at him. James grinned.

"Why thank you, Alice. Marley did great too."

"I already told her that she should have been captain instead of you," Alice joked, taking a sip from her cup. Marlene laughed.

"I will agree with that," she said, hitting her cup on Alice's. James took the opportunity to look down at Lily.

"Evans! You're drinking?!" James exclaimed, pointing at the cup in her hand.

"Yes, Potter, it does appear that I am, doesn't it?" Lily rolled her eyes. She hardly ever drank and she was already feeling her second cup of Firewhiskey.

"But..but..you're so innocent!" James said, pretending to gasp.

"Oh, please. You should hear some of the things she says in the room!" Marlene giggled and Lily blushed.

"Shut up, Marley." Lily finished her cup and put it on the table next to her and crossed her arms. James hated when she did that; it always made her cleavage more noticeable which made James want to stare...which was a problem. "Nice fall you almost had out there today, Potter."

"You distracted me while you were flirting with some git," James said, smiling sweetly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Or answering a question from the Potions essay," Lily said, grabbing another drink.

"James, have you told her about Brad yet?" Marlene giggled. Lily whipped her head up to stare at James.

"What did you do, Potter?"

"I didn't do anything. What the fuck, Marlene?" James snapped, frowning at her.

"Sorry, I'm drunk. I tell secrets when I'm drunk. James gave Brad food poisoning so he couldn't go on your date. It's almost kind of sweet, when you think about it." Marlene sighed and Alice raised her eyebrows.

"Jesus Christ, Marlene!" James yelled, blushing. Lily glared at him.

"Did you do that, Potter?"

"I-er..yes. Yes I did. But only because he's bad news and I don't want something bad to happen to you!" James blurted out, ignoring the seething look from Lily.

"What the fuck is your problem? Why must you always control my life? I don't need to be saved, Potter. I can do whatever the hell I want with who I want," Lily snapped, her voice rising.

"You don't get it, Evans! He only wants to hang out with you for one reason!" James pleaded with her, ignoring the looks from their classmates.

"And so what if he does? I'm not your girlfriend, Potter and I never will be. Stop trying to make it happen. Don't you see I hate you? You ruin everything good in my life. Why can't you just leave me alone," Lily growled, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

"Because you deserve better! I'm not going to sit here and watch you get hurt! You may hate me, Evans but I don't hate you." James sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Lily frowned at him and turned away, walking quickly towards the dormitories. "Thanks a fucking lot, Marlene," James snapped and chased after her, ignoring the calls from Brittney. Why did he always screw this up?


End file.
